(AP) – Tim McGraw describes his upcoming album as a combination of discovery and rediscovery. McGraw says his “Two Lanes Of Freedom” album will blend the new sounds he tried on his last album while also going back to his roots. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban are guest musicians. “Two Lanes Of Freedom” comes out February 5.
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Jason Aldean has joined the lineup for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2013 on ABC. Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, OneRepublic, Pitbull and PSY are also on the bill. Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas hosts the West Coast party while Ryan Seacrest keeps things running smoothly in Times Square. The New Year’s Rockin’ Eve telecast gets started at 10 p.m. ET with the show continuing as 2013 begins across the country.
Of note, a two-hour special celebrating the late Dick Clark will air at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, December 31 on ABC.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Miranda Lambert and Blake Sheltonaren’t having kids any time soon, but Miranda does have a big, new responsibility in her life — her new store, The Pink Pistol.
When someone asked Blake and Miranda about expanding their family recently, Blake referred to the store as her “big pink baby” in Tishomingo, OK.
“I think he regrets encouraging me to open it now because he never sees me,” Miranda says with a laugh. “But when we’re home, Blake’s in the woods and he loves huntin’ and being in the woods and now I’ve just really found something that sort of gives me a new energy and that really occupies my time when I’m not on the road.”
The Pink Pistol also gives Miranda something to give her mind a rest from working on music all the time.
She explains, “My hobby happens to be singing and songwriting, which is also my job. So, I needed a little bit more distraction.”
Miranda’s creative distractions like The Pink Pistol often cause a lot of extra work for the members of her team.
She adds, “I feel sorry for the people around me, because they’re having to execute them. But, you know, that’s what they do.”
Miranda will get back to making music when she launches her Locked & Reloaded tour with Dierks Bentley on January 17.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Brad Paisley‘s latest single, “Southern Comfort Zone,” is all about his eye-opening experiences traveling the world, so it makes sense he literally traveled to the other side of the planet to film the song’s new video.
Footage from eight different countries, including France, Ireland and Norway, is featured in the video with Brad running through the streets of different foreign cities in several shots. In another segment, Brad has an up close encounter with a giraffe named Congo.
He says, “An interesting fact about this video is there is no green screen. The giraffe is real. Every location is a real location. We flew 10,000 miles to do this, which is a lot of fun for me.”
Brad enjoyed working with the wild animals like Congo the giraffe so much, he might enlist him on a future project.
“He was way better than working with Carrie Underwood. I’ll tell you that,” Brad jokes. “He didn’t ever sort of talk back. He didn’t ever sort of make a fool of me.”
In all seriousness, Brad loves to see the world, and names Paris and Rome as two of his favorite European cities.
“It’s a tossup sometimes,” he says, adding, “Stockholm’s great. Dublin’s great.”
Look for a cameo from Brad’s 2012 tour mates The Band Perry in the “Southern Comfort Zone” video too. It’s the lead single from his new album due out in April 2013.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Chris Young has evolved into one of country music’s sharpest-dressed men in the past few years, and he credits the women in his life with putting together his dapper look.
Walking the red carpet at Monday night’s American Country Awards in Las Vegas, Chris told TheBoot.com, “Everybody from my manager to my publicist — everybody that’s not on my road crew that’s on the team — is female. So I basically just stand around and let them nit pick everything.”
The attention from the women on his team leaves Chris free to focus on presenting awards or performing on those big shows like the ACAs, or the CMT Artists of the Year broadcast.
“I don’t really have to do anything,” says Chris. “I just put on clothes and stand there and let them swoop in.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Jason Aldean is hard at work getting the stage and production elements together for his 2013 Night Train tour, and fans can rest assured music will always be his main focus. Jason does have his sights on getting into another branch of the entertainment industry though.
He tells ABC News Radio, “I may dabble in some things here and there. Movies or whatever maybe here and there.”
Jason isn’t putting a priority on finding a movie role right now because his music career is going so strong.
“It’s one of those things where if I do a movie, I don’t even know if I’m any good,” Jason explains. “So, I may do one and it sucks and I’m a horrible actor, and I’ll never do another one.”
So, what kind of movie role would Jason like to land? He’s not that picky when it comes to casting, but Jason would enjoy appearing in something a little dark.
He says, “I’m a fan of shows like Criminal Minds and The Mentalist and shows like that — thriller kind of things. So, I don’t know. We’ll see. Whatever comes along.”
While Jason is proud that some country artists have done a goob job crossing over into movies like Trace Adkins and Tim McGraw, that not the case for everyone, and Jason knows it.
“There has been some country artists that have gone out and tried it, and they were horrible,” Jason explains. “I don’t want to be that guy.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Michael Buble has invited Blake Shelton to sing a special holiday version of “Home” on his new TV special, Michael Buble: Home for the Holidays. It airs Monday night at 10 ET on NBC.
Both Blake and Michael have scored hits with “Home,” and Michael says he was “thrilled” to rewrite the tune so he and Blake could sing it together. “He’s just a great friend,” Michael says of Blake. “I mean, he’s exactly what you think he is. He’s a wonderful, funny, humble, charismatic, incredibly talented, smart guy and it’s great to count him as a buddy.”
Rod Stewart, Carly Rae Jepson and Elmo also appear on Michael’s holiday special. It was filmed in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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(AP) – Lee Greenwood will perform on tonight’s edition of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” He sings “God Bless The U.S.A” for a wounded Iraq War veteran and his wife.
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Kenny Chesney‘s July 12 show at Target Field in Minneapolis sold out in just 30 minutes this week. That’s nearly 40,000 tickets snapped up in a half-hour.
Says Kenny, “The fans in Minnesota bring a lot of passion and energy to our summer. They truly represent what No Shoes Nation is all about.”
Kenny’s No Shoes Nation tour stadium dates will feature Eric Church along with Eli Young Band and Kacey Musgraves. A few of those shows, including Minneapolis, will also include Zac Brown Band on the bill.
Look for more No Shoes Nation tour dates to be announced soon.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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George Strait has had one of the most successful runs of hits in music history, with nearly 60 #1 songs to his credit on the country chart. Until recently, George didn’t write any of those hits songs himself, though. He tried his hand as a songwriter while trying to launch his career, but those songs never took off.
George tells People Country, “When I came to town to Nashville, I found that there were so many great songwriters here. They wrote me some great songs, and they’ve been a huge part of my career.”
George’s son Bubba has gotten him back into songwriting recently. Together, they’ve penned the hit singles “Living for the Night” and “Here for a Good Time” in the past few years with Dean Dillon.
“It’s been a great experience for me to be able to see him blossom as a songwriter and get involved in this business also,” George says of Bubba. “He’s loving it.”
George didn’t have a hand in writing his latest single, “Give It All We Got Tonight,” which is now climbing the country chart. He’ll launch his The Cowboy Rides Away tour January 18 in Lubbock, TX with special guest Martina McBride.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Brad Paisley is hosting a live chat Monday to celebrate the release of his new video, “Southern Comfort Zone.” The clip premieres at 3 p.m. ET at BradPaisley.com and UStream.tv/BradPaisley. Fans can take part in the chat through Ustream’s social stream or by using the Twitter hashtag #bradpaisleychat.
“Southern Comfort Zone” is the lead single from Brad’s new album, due out April 19. A title hasn’t been announced yet.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Tim McGraw and Faith Hill launched their limited Soul 2 Soul engagement at The Venetian in Sin City with a duet version of “Let’s Go to Vegas” Friday night.
According to The Tennessean, the couple remained onstage together for the duration of the 90 minute show as they performed their big hits like “Breathe” and “Live Like You Were Dying.” Of course, their duets on “It’s Your Love” and “I Need You” were a big highlight too.
Tim sang a musical tribute to the Eagles including their hits “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “Life in the Fast Lane.” Faith gave soulful renditions of Aretha Franklin‘s “Dr. Feelgood” and Simon & Garfunkel‘s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as well.
Tim and Faith’s show at the Vegas runs through April 2013.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
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Christmas Dinner With Lee Greenwood And Family:
Lee Greenwood Salutes The Military This And Every Holiday Season:
Christmas Traditions At The Greenwood Home:
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